In a previous article, we provide a comprehensive overview of WordPress Themes.
If you would like to know more about the benefits of using WP themes and what makes WordPress themes so revolutionary in terms of website design, then go here to read the article: Understanding WordPress Themes – A Practical Guide
In this blog post, you will learn where you can browse hundreds of free and paid themes for your WordPress site. You will also learn about the different types of WordPress theme resources and get tips on how to ensure that you get the right themes for your needs and avoid dealing with problems like lack of customer support and poorly-coded themes.
As explained in our previous article, a theme is a special type of web template that is used on WordPress-driven websites and blogs and designed to work specifically in WordPress.
Many skilled website designers and web development houses create themes for WordPress. Consequently, WordPress users can access thousands of unique WP themes designed to cover many purposes.
Finding WP Themes: Your Time-Saving Guide
If you were to fire up Google and type the following:
- best free themes for WordPress
- WordPress themes free
- best free WordPress themes for business (or whatever your business, search topic or blog is about)
You are probably going to get an overwhelming amount of information to sort through in the search listings.
So, to help you save time and make your life easier, we’ll just cut through the clutter and make the process of finding great WordPress themes really simple.
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org Themes
Before we get started, you should know that WordPress offers users both a hosted and a self-hosted version. We’ll explain these differences in a separate post. To keep things simple, we’ll only cover the topic of finding themes for the self-hosted version of WordPress (WordPress.org) in this post, as these give you more freedom, more options and more control over the design areas of your blog.
Free vs Paid WordPress Themes
Next, it’s useful to know that there are thousands of Free and Paid WordPress themes made available. Free themes are normally distributed as Open Source Software under the terms of the GNU General Public License, or they will be licensed for use as Premium (paid) themes.
WordPress Theme Directories vs Commercial Theme Design Houses
There are mostly two places where themes can be found. The first type of place is in theme marketplaces and WP theme directories. The second type of place are the commercial and independent theme shops.
Theme marketplaces and WP theme directories are large aggregators of themes. theme developers (both commercial and independent) list their themes (both free and paid) in the marketplace or directory and visitors find these just like they would if they were shopping for apps on an app store or software directory.
Some of the bigger marketplaces don’t just sell WordPress themes. They can also sell WordPress plugins and templates for other web applications (e.g. Joomla, Drupal, etc.)
Commercial and independent WP theme shops typically create both free and commercial WordPress themes, and can vary in size, from an individual designer or a small team of developer, to large theme development companies.
As you will see, most commercial theme companies sell themes exclusively on their own web sites, but some will also list their themes in marketplaces and directories, or even create a free or “lite” version of their themes for free directories .
Let’s now show you where to search for great WordPress themes for your blog.
Finding Responsive Themes For Your Website Or Blog
WordPress.org
(WordPress.org – Themes Directory)
The official WordPress.org theme directory is the largest and best place to search for WP themes for free. In fact, it’s probably the only free directory you should use when looking for free WordPress themes. The reason why, is because –as many free software users have discovered– downloading free software, add-ons, apps, templates or themes from untrustworthy places can contain malicious code and put your computer, digital presence and even your entire business at risk.
The WordPress directory is not only a trustworthy and reputable place to download themes for your WordPress site, but it also uses a review team to review and ensure that each theme uploaded to the directory meets specific quality and security standards.
To browse thousands of great-looking FREE WordPress themes from the official WP Themes Repository, go here:
http://www.wordpress.org/extend/themes
Look For Free WordPress Themes Without Leaving Your Own WP Dashboard
Useful Tip: You can easily browse through every WordPress theme in the WordPress directory and not only find a great theme for your website or blog, but also easily install and start using it directly from inside your WordPress dashboard with only a couple of mouse clicks.
Use The Theme Filters
WordPress has a built-in filtering function inside the dashboard area that lets you narrow down your search for themes based on criteria like Colours, Layout and Features …
This makes it easier to find what you are looking for. For example, you could search for themes with predominantly blue colour design, with a 2-column layout and a full-width template, or themes that support custom menus, etc.
Note: in the post where we discuss the importance of using “responsive” themes, we explained how these allow your site to be viewed correctly on all devices (e.g. your visitors’ computers, smartphones and tablets) …
It’s a good idea to use responsive themes, and the WordPress theme filter lets you do just that …
… and find only WordPress themes that have been built using “responsive” design standards …
Pros & Cons Of Using Free Themes
The obvious “pro” to using free WordPress themes is that there is no cost to download and use the theme. Additionally, many free themes are professionally designed and provide a number of customizable settings, giving you great flexibility and choice in how you configure all of its various layout elements.
The downside of using free WordPress themes are that your themes may not get updated as often with new features and bug fixes, and you shouldn’t expect the developer to provide immediate support, especially if they are not getting paid. Many freely distributed themes will ask you for a donation to help cover their costs of providing support and updates, bug fixes, etc..
When downloading free themes, therefore, check to see when the theme was last updated. If it’s been more than a year since any changes were made, then you should think twice about downloading it, as the theme may have been abandoned by its developer.
If you’re just getting started and your site is still relatively new, it’s a good idea to start with a free theme until you have a better idea of the kind of site design that would work best for your site before spending any money on a theme. Who knows, the free theme you’ve downloaded could be exactly what works for your site and for converting your site visitors into customers.
Now that we’ve seen how to find free WP themes in the WordPress theme directory and ways to filter your search for themes that meet your specific criteria, it’s time to turn our attention to paid themes.
Premium WordPress Themes
If you are looking for themes with stunning design, or professional quality yet highly affordable WordPress web design themes with a distinctive look, unique customizable options and great support, then search through the WordPress theme galleries of the “Premium” theme design agencies listed below:
WP Theme Marketplaces
ThemeForest
ThemeForest is one of the largest and most popular theme marketplaces online.
ThemeForest lets many professional WP theme creators showcase their designs through their online marketplace. There are currently over 15,000 premium themes listed (some starting from as little as $3) …
(click on the above images to browse all ThemeForest themes)
If you visit the ThemeForest theme directory, you will be able to browse for specific WP themes in a range of categories, such as:
- Blog/Magazine – themes for general blogs and blog magazines, etc.
- Corporate – themes suitable for medical sites or advertising purposes.
- Creative – themes for design, galleries, etc.
- Directory Listings – themes that suit sites related to employment opportunities, holiday rentals, tourism directories, etc.
- eCommerce – themes for ecommerce, event bookings and registrations, etc.
- Education – themes that suit sites related to tutoring, etc.
- Entertainment – themes for gossip blogs, restaurants, etc.
- Mobile – e.g. mobile-switching themes.
- NonProfit – themes for nonprofit organizations, churches, etc.
- Real Estate – themes for real estate and real estate listings (e.g. home sales, etc.)
- Retail – themes for specialty stores, trades or professionals (repairers, engineering, etc.)
- Technology – themes related to software, affiliate marketing, seo, product reviews, direct sales, etc.
- Wedding – e.g. themes for wedding sites and dating advice blogs
- Miscellaneous – themes suitable for writing or discussing environmental issues, green living sites or blogs … even themes you can use if your site is still under-construction!
When you purchase WordPress themes from ThemeForest, you will receive email notifications when a new update is available for your theme …
(ThemeForest emails you theme update notifications)
Browse lots of quality premium WordPress themes in the ThemeForest directory here:
Creative Market
(click on the images above to see more themes on Creative Market)
Creative Market is another leading WordPress theme directory where you can search through thousands of quality premium WordPress themes from independent theme creators.
As stated on their website …
“Creative Market is a platform for handcrafted, mousemade design content from independent creatives around the world.”
Creative Market doesn’t just sell WP themes in its directory, but you can easily browse hundreds of WordPress themes and search through their theme categories using the site’s dropdown “Themes” menu …
Browse through hundreds of great themes crafted by independent WordPress theme developers in the Creative Market theme directory here:
Mojo Themes
(click on the above images to view all Mojo themes)
Mojo is a directory for premium WP themes where theme vendors are strongly encouraged to provide customers with lifetime support and upgrades.
According to their website …
“Mojo is a marketplace where anyone can find, rate and buy quality themes & templates in one trusted place.”
Like Envato and Creative Market, Mojo doesn’t focus exclusively on WordPress themes, but you can easily go through all of their WP themes and search through their theme categories using the dropdown “WordPress Themes” menu …
Visit the site to find great themes in the Mojo directory here:
Now that we have looked at WP theme aggregators, let’s turn our attention to commercial WordPress theme design companies.
Commercial WordPress Theme Design Houses
SoloStream
SoloStream provides WordPress users with a selection of professional quality themes and the option of accessing all themes through a WordPress theme membership.
(click on images above to browse more themes from SoloStream)
Woo Themes
Woo Themes creates eye-catching premium themes and offers a membership option that lets you access all themes in their growing theme portfolio.
(click on the above images to browse all themes from WooThemes)
StoreFront
StoreFront Themes specializes in creating e-commerce themes for WordPress. Their themes also integrate well with some of the most powerful e-commerce platforms and plugins available.
(click on the images above to browse more themes from StoreFront)
StudioPress
StudioPress provides WordPress themes based on a framework that allows users to quickly and easily build a professional and search optimized WordPress site, and provides an auto-updating design architecture, turn-key site designs with beautiful frames for the content and unprecedented control of the framework.
Many web developers prefer using the Genesis framework not only because it’s well-coded and well-supported (the development team at StudioPress keeps the framework frequently updated to reflect best coding practices and to make sure that it is always compatible with the latest version of WordPress, but because you can update your themes without losing any customizations you have made to your theme.
This is because StudioPress themes use something called “child themes,” which are like a paint job that sits on top of the framework and gives your site its unique design.
If this all sounds too technical, don’t worry about it. StudioPress themes are easy to work with, just like all other WordPress themes. The great thing about choosing StudioPress themes is that you pay just one low price to receive unlimited support and updates, and you can install your themes on unlimited domains.
For more details, click here: StudioPress.
(click on the above images to see all themes from StudioPress)
WordPress Theme-Checking Tools
To round things up, here are some useful WP theme-related tools worth knowing about:
What WordPress Theme Is That? – WordPress Theme Checker
What WordPress Theme Is That.com is a free WordPress theme search tool that lets you easily detect what WordPress theme a website is using (including parent and child WordPress themes).
This is a great resource if you have come across a WordPress site that you like and would like to know what theme is being used on the website.
Tip: If you can’t tell whether a site runs on WordPress or not, we have posted a a great tutorial that helps you tell whether or not a site was built using WordPress: Does My Blog Run On WordPress?
Using this tool is very simple. Just enter the site’s domain name into the field and click the search icon or hit “Enter.” The tool will then not only confirm if the site was built using the WordPress CMS platform, but it will also list the theme being used by the site and list any plugins detected.
- To use the online tool go here: What WordPress Theme Is That
- To learn how to use this tool go here: Is Your Site Powered By WordPress?
Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC)
A word of warning: If you decide to use FREE themes for your WordPress site, we recommend sticking with the approved WP themes listed in the official WordPress theme directory.
A well-known method used by a number of hackers and networks that engage in cyber-crime is to put up websites offering “Free” WordPress themes all over the web and then distribute modified themes with malicious code embedded in their files. In fact, some of these sites even come up on search engine results for key phrases like “free WordPress themes“, “best free themes for WordPress”” etc. It’s safer, therefore, to only download free themes from the official WordPress theme repository, or use well-known and reputable theme vendors.
If you are concerned about whether a WordPress theme that you have installed on your blog could be infected with malicious or unwanted code, you can use a free WordPress plugin like Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) to perform a scan of your WP theme files. The TAC plugin searches the source files of every installed theme on your site for signs of suspicious code and then outputs a report …
(TAC Report Page – Screenshot Source: Plugin, WordPress.org)
I hope that you have found this information useful.
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